5 Championship Tips - 30/07/2022

Sunderland welcomes Coventry City to the Stadium of Light this Sunday for their first game back in the second tier after four seasons in League One. Coventry ended the 2021/22 Championship firmly mid-pack in 12th, 11 points off the last Play-off place.

Sunderland have only played Coventry 42 times in their history, only winning 12, The Black Cats’ last win being a 2 - 0 victory back in 2007. The Sky Blues, on the other hand, have 15 wins against Sunderland, the biggest being 6 - 1 back in 1982, and the most recent coming in their last meeting in 2020.

Coventry scored 60 goals in the Championship last season, only failing to score 13 times. Sunderland scored 79 goals in League One and only conceded 53. Despite these good records, in four of the last five games between the two, there haven’t been more than two goals scored, making a game with under 2.5 goals a high likelihood for this clash.

Middlesbrough meets West Brom in their 2022/23 Championship opener at the Riverside Stadium.

Boro finished in an agonising seventh place, five points adrift of the final Play-off place, whilst the Baggies also finished in the top half of the table, in tenth, on 67 points, eight points from the Play-offs.

Middlesbrough do have an overall better record against West Brom, with 42 wins to The Baggies’ 34 wins, but this clash still looks most likely to be a draw. The last five encounters between the two have resulted in three Middlesbrough wins, one West Brom win and a singular draw.

Despite the head-to-head being more in Boro’s favour, both teams now have managers that are well versed in Championship promotion - Chris Wilder and Steve Bruce, which suggests that they’ll be more competitive this year, hence the prediction that this clash will be a hotly contested draw.

Both Hull City and Bristol City failed to impress in the Championship last season, finishing 19th and 17th respectively, an astounding 24 and 20 points adrift of the final Play-off place. They meet this Saturday at the MKM Stadium looking to get off on the right foot for the 2022/23 season.

The Tigers and The Robins have met 88 times in English football, with the head-to-head swinging in Bristol City’s favour. City have won the clash 36 times in comparison to Hull’s 28 wins, with the other 24 games resulting in a draw - something most likely to happen this weekend.

The meeting at the MKM last season ended in a 2 - 2 draw, with a 91st-minute equaliser from Matty James earning a point for The Robins. The reverse fixture was nothing less than a thrashing for The Tigers, who lost 5 - 0 at Ashton Gate. However, the two teams are very closely matched, leaving a draw with both scoring a likely outcome.

Rotherham’s first game back in the Championship after their one-season absence in League One is against Swansea City who make the trip to the New York Stadium.

The Millers finished second in League One, just two points behind champions Sunderland, but earned their promotion nonetheless. Swansea finished midtable in 15th, 20 points off relegation but also 14 points from the Play-off places.

Swansea have the superior record against The Millers, winning 30 of the 80 meetings between the clubs. Rotherham have won 25 of the clashes, with the other 25 resulting in a share of the spoils.

In the last five games between the two, Swansea have won four of the five games. In the 2020/21 Championship season The Swans finished victorious in both games against Rotherham. The game at the New York Stadium ended in a 3 - 1 win with the return fixture at the Swansea.com Stadium finished with a 1 - 0 win for The Swans. This form against The Millers suggests that this Championship encounter will also end in Swansea’s favour.

Wigan Athletic welcome Preston North End to the DW Stadium for their first Championship game after two seasons in League One.

The Latics finished top of League One with two points to spare and 27 wins. Preston finished 13th, unable to make too much of an impact at the top of the table.

In the 49 meetings between Wigan and Preston, The Lilywhites have a slightly better record, with 20 wins to Wigans 15, with 14 draws. The last five games between the two has resulted in three Preston wins, a Wigan win and a 0 - 0 draw back in 2017.

In these last fives games, bar the 0 - 0 in 2017, all of the games have ended with two or more goals. In the 2019/20 Championship season, Preston came away victorious both times, with a 3 - 0 win at home and a 2 - 1 win on the road. The other two recent clashes ended in a 2 - 0 win for The Latics and a 4 - 0 win for the Lilywhites. This history suggests that there will be another Preston win, with a potential goal-fest.